Profile: Lord West

During his naval and governmental career, security minister Lord West has repeatedly spoken out against government policy.

Before he stood down as head of the navy last year, Lord West, who distinguished himself in the Falklands war when he was the last to leave the sinking HMS Ardent, warned that cuts to the service would leave it unable to protect Britain's coastline.

"I don't think anything should ever be sacred but we do have to be careful that we do not reduce the navy to a level that makes recovery difficult," he said.

In April, the former first sea lord condemned the decision by the Ministry of Defence to allow Royal Navy hostages held by Iran to sell their stories.

"It does leave a slightly tacky taste in one's mouth. It is not good," he said.

West also harboured serious doubts about the legality of the invasion of Iraq, and consulted lawyers over whether naval personnel could face war crimes charges.

Despite, or possibly because of, his criticism of Tony Blair's administration, West was appointed parliamentary under-secretary of state for security and counter-terrorism in Gordon Brown's "government of all the talents".

His remit included conducting a review Britain's terror laws, which has led him - once again - to put himself at odds with the official government line.

Just hours before the prime minister was set to unveil new anti-terrorist measures, West told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that he was not "totally convinced" that the time limit for detaining terror suspects without charge should be extended.

His comments proved embarrassing for Gordon Brown given that only last week in the Queen's speech the prime minister signalled that ministers would be bringing forward measures to extend the existing 28-day detention limit.

West, who would have to pilot the measure through the House of Lords, said he would need "absolute evidence" that the change was necessary before he was prepared to argue the case for more time.

"I want to have absolute evidence that we actually need longer than 28 days," he told the Today programme.

"I want to be totally convinced because I'm not going to go push for something that affects the liberty of the individual unless there's a real necessity for it, and I'm lacking that data at the moment."

The security minister "clarified" his remarks following a pre-planned meeting with Brown.

In a statement released less than two hours after his radio interview, West said he was "convinced that we need to legislate now so that we have the necessary powers when we need them."

"I was stating this morning that there will need to be scrutiny in the system, and robust evidence against individuals, to safeguard their rights," he said.

His rapid volte face provoked the Conservative leader, David Cameron, to accuse the prime minister of leaning on West.

Whether West will be more careful about airing his views in future remains to be seen.